Kenichi Enomoto
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Kenichi Enomoto (October 11, 1904 – January 7, 1970) was a popular Japanese singing comedian, mostly known by his stage name Enoken.
A major innovator during his heyday, Enoken's stage shows, radio appearances, and film roles were a major influence within Tokyo theatre before World War II, and was a catalyst for the revival of comedy in the postwar period.
Born in Aoyama, Tokyo, the son of rice cracker shop owners, Enomoto fell under the spell of such stars of the Asakusa Opera as Taya Rikizo and Fujiwara Yoshie, and in 1922 he made his stage debut at age 18 as a chorus member of the Asakusa Kinryukan Theatre. The Great Kanto Earthquake of the following year dealt a great blow to the opera world in Tokyo, at which time Enomoto shifted to comic theatre. Playing small roles in various comedy productions, he returned to the Asakusa stage in 1929 as part of the troupe Casino Folly. The following year saw him launch his own troupe, Enoken Gekidan, which would firmly establish him as a leading figure in Tokyo theatrical circles. In 1934, he starred in the movie Enoken no Seishun Suikoden (Enoken’s Tale of Youth’s Folly), and gained national popularity. His subsequent film career saw him parody a whole parade of Japanese historical personages, including Kondo Isami and Sakamoto Ryoma, in a series of "jidai-geki" (historical dramas) and "chanbara" (samurai drama) films, including some directed by Kajirō Yamamoto, Nobuo Nakagawa and Akira Kurosawa.
Enomoto became afflicted with necrosis of the right leg in the 1950s, which required amputation, curtailing his film and stage career. He did, however, make a legendary comeback at the Shinjuku Koma Theatre 1963 wearing a prosthetic leg. He died in 1970, and is entombed in Hase Temple in Nishi-Azabu, Minato, Tokyo, on whose tombstone is inscribed "The King of Comedy".
Description above from the Wikipedia article Kenichi Enomoto, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For | Acting |
---|---|
Most Rating | 7.844 |
Birthday | 1904-10-11 |
Place of Birth | Aoyama, Tokyo |
Also Known As | Ken'ichi Enomoto, エノケン, Enoken, |
1952
Kin no tamago: Golden Girl
0/0
Once an average and seemingly ordinary Tokyo girl, she suddenly finds herself as a TV star owing to her discovery by a casting company, which noticed...
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Kin no tamago: Golden Girl
1962
次郎長社長と石松社員 威風堂々
0/0
1962 Japanese movie
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次郎長社長と石松社員 威風堂々
1940
Enoken's Bow-Wow General
0/0
Enoken no wanwan taishô AKA Wanwan Taisho AKA Bowwow General directed by Nobuo Nakagawa
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Enoken's Bow-Wow General
1954
Enomoto's Heaven and Hell
0/0
Keita, after his death, was taken to the court of heaven as Defendant No. 1361, where his past was projected. He was formerly a favorite of the Meri...
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Enomoto's Heaven and Hell
1952
The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail
6.7/86
Yoshitsune Minamoto, disguised with his retinue as monks, must make do with a comical porter as their guide through hostile territory en route to safe...
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The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail
1962
The Dangoro Party in the Sky
0/0
The film adaptation of Kazuo Kikuta novel "Kumo no Ue Dangoro Ichiza", which enjoyed great success at the performances of the Toho Takarazuka Theater...
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The Dangoro Party in the Sky
1955
A Doting Parent’s Lullaby
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A Doting Parent’s Lullaby
1950
Enoken roppa no yajikita bugiugi dōchū
0/0
1950 Japanese movie
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Enoken roppa no yajikita bugiugi dōchū
1958
The Beloved Imposters
0/0
1958 Mito Kumon movie
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The Beloved Imposters
1945
Until Victory Day
0/0
An Invention laboratory is working on the creation of a performance 'bomb' in the shape of a rocket that could be delivered to the front in order to e...
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Until Victory Day
1946
人生とんぼ返り
0/0
After learning that he has accidentally killed a man in a fight, Unokichi must look after the man's pregnant widow.
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人生とんぼ返り
1950
Enoken ohako rakuda no Ma-san
0/0
1950 Japanese movie
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Enoken ohako rakuda no Ma-san
1952
Fighting Yasubei
0/0
Yasube Nakayama left the clan and lives in Edo. One day, Yasubei visits his uncle Rokuroemon Kanno to borrow money from a moneylender in the amount of...
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Fighting Yasubei
1939
Enoken’s Shrewd Period
0/0
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Enoken’s Shrewd Period
1938
Enoken's Surprising Life
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Enoken's Surprising Life
1945
天晴れ一心太助
0/0
1945 Japanese movie
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天晴れ一心太助
1940
The Monkey King
0/0
A legendary pre-war comedy operetta starring Enomoto Kenichi, Hideko Takamine and Li Xianglan. The Sanzo Ikkou continues its westward journey, on a mi...
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The Monkey King
1948
Enoken's Singing Detective Story
0/0
A modern take on history with songs and comedy presented by Enoken (as Gonza), Fujiyama (as Sukeju), and Kasagi (Gonza’s wife Osaki).
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Enoken's Singing Detective Story
1961
The Happy-Go-Lucky Guy
0/0
A group of four chorus singers leave their hometown in Kyushu and go to Tokyo to become stars. It’s a musical comedy that shows Segawa’s talent.
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The Happy-Go-Lucky Guy
1949
Enoken’s Boxing Generation
0/0
Near the end of the Taisho era (1912-1926), Enokichi, a popular figure in the world of boxing entangled in the Yakuza business.
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Enoken’s Boxing Generation
1934
Romantic and Crazy
0/0
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Romantic and Crazy
1945
Uta e! Taiyō
0/0
1945 Japanese movie
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Uta e! Taiyō
1961
誰よりも金を愛す
0/0
Japanese comedy film.
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誰よりも金を愛す
1956
Excursion to Treasure Isle
0/0
The story is a dramatization of the Japanese folklore legend of Momotaro, the Peach Boy, who with his trusted companions of dog, monkey and pheasant f...
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Excursion to Treasure Isle
1947
聟入り豪華船
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聟入り豪華船
1958
Nitōhei monogatari: Aa senyū no maki
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Fifth sequel to "Story of Second Class Private".
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Nitōhei monogatari: Aa senyū no maki
1949
The Adventures of Tobisuke
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Tobisuke, puppeteer in Kyôtô, saves O-fuku's life. Wounded in the head, it can now count to three. O-fuku invited him to meet her mother so she can he...
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The Adventures of Tobisuke
1950
Enoken the Hero
0/0
Set in the Sengoku period, Tokugawa vassal Yakurota (Kenichi Enomoto) helps the older sister and twin sister of the Matsudaira family who are in love...
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Enoken the Hero
1955
Nonki saiban
0/0
A spectacular comedy with a star-studded cast that depicts unusual trials and unexpected verdicts regarding the five deadly sins: the crime of beauty,...
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Nonki saiban
1942
The Man Who Waited
0/0
A bizarre murder at a hot springs resort threatens to disrupt an Edo detective's (Hasegawa) vacation. When his hot-blooded wife (Yamada) starts snoop...
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The Man Who Waited
1936
Enoken's The Millionaire, Part 1
0/0
Enoken plays a cloistered rich kid whose father hires a disreputable tutor to teach him how to really be a millionaire: by drunken debauchery, women,...
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Enoken's The Millionaire, Part 1
1936
Enoken's Donguri Tonbei
0/0
Enoken plays a frog-oil-hawking conman whose claims to martial prowess land him in hot water with the local samurai gentry - but not before he falls i...
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Enoken's Donguri Tonbei
1937
Enoken's Sarutobi Sasuke
0/0
Enoken plays legendary ninja Sarutobi Sasuke, whose magical powers never help as much as expected - in war or in love.
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Enoken's Sarutobi Sasuke
1937
Enoken's Chakkiri Kinta Part 2: Returning Is Scary, But the Weather Will Clear If You Wait
6/1
1930s Japanese comedy.
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Enoken's Chakkiri Kinta Part 2: Returning Is Scary, But the Weather Will Clear If You Wait
1934
Enoken's The Magician
0/0
Enoken plays a magician real powers come from his magical hat. A jealous theater owner sends girls, then goons, to keep Enoken from performing his gra...
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Enoken's The Magician
1939
Rivals
0/0
Two hyper-competitive salarymen let their workplace rivalry spill over into their private lives, as both men try to one-up each other on a luxurious b...
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Rivals
1937
Enoken’s Kinta the Pickpocket
6/1
A comedic tale told in four parts, this film follows the antics of the pickpocket Kinta as he is pursued by a low ranking deputy named Kurakichi. The...
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Enoken’s Kinta the Pickpocket
1935
Enoken's Kondo Isami
0/0
Enoken plays both Kondo Isami and his deadly enemy Sakamoto Ryoma in this comedic, song-filled vision of the Meiji Restoration.
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Enoken's Kondo Isami
1936
Enoken's The Millionaire, Part 2
0/0
The story picks up from Part 1 as Enoken's young scion forsakes his wealth and takes a department store job – in drag and sometimes blackface – to pro...
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Enoken's The Millionaire, Part 2
1939
Enoken's Yaji and Kita
0/0
Enoken's anachronistic take on the beloved (and already very funny) Edo-period novel "Shank's Mare," aka Tōkaidōchū Hizakurige, in which Yaji and Kita...
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Enoken's Yaji and Kita
1938
Enoken's Hokaibo
0/0
An irreverent take on a medieval Noh drama, Hokaibo sees Enoken play the titular monk whose lusts drive him to murder.
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Enoken's Hokaibo
1939
Enoken's Mori no Ishimatsu
0/0
A typically modern take on the well-known Naniwabushi character (and real life 19th-century gangster) Mori no Ishimatsu, whose proverbial stupidity En...
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Enoken's Mori no Ishimatsu
1940
Enoken's Zangiri Kinta
0/0
Enoken's pickpocket Kinta (returned from the Chakkiri Kinta movies) finds some unexpected trouble: a stolen diamond necklace he just can't seem to get...
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Enoken's Zangiri Kinta
1939
Enoken's Kurama Tengu
0/0
The legendary ninja Kurama Tengu (Enoken) uses his superhuman powers to help free a band of street urchins from their Fagin-like master. The film's in...
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Enoken's Kurama Tengu
1940
Enoken Enters the Ring
0/0
Enoken trains to be a great sumo wrestler.
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Enoken Enters the Ring
1948
Enoken's Home Run King
0/0
Postwar! Baseball! Comedy! Enoken plays a superfan of the Yomiuri Giants – the real Tokyo team, with many of its star players "acting" as themselves –...
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Enoken's Home Run King
1950
The Tokyo Kid
0/0
A young, talented singer (Misora) is orphaned, not once but twice, and has to turn to a rather unlikely, and unwilling, parental figure, while avoidin...
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The Tokyo Kid
1962
A Country Boss
0/0
A country boss gives up his way of life because of his daughter's marriage.
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A Country Boss
1956
Masura o hashutsu fukai
0/0
Based on a comic strip by Kaoru Akiyoshi. First in a four part film series.
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Masura o hashutsu fukai
1959
The Three Treasures
5.3/10
The legend of the birth of Shintoism. In Fourth Century Japan, the Emperor's son Ouso expects to succeed his father on the throne, but Otomo, the Empe...
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The Three Treasures
1957
The Paradise Island Story
0/0
Musical-comedy about nine soldiers deserted on an island in South Pacific.
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The Paradise Island Story
1947
Four Love Stories
5.8/4
Omnibus of love stories from 1947 directed by famous directors, featuring big stars.
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Four Love Stories
1943
Hyoroku's Dream Tale
0/0
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Hyoroku's Dream Tale
1947
These Foolish Times
0/0
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These Foolish Times
1942
Exploits of Heisuke Isokawa
0/0
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Exploits of Heisuke Isokawa
1944
Idaten Kaido
0/0
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Idaten Kaido
1944
Sagohei the Three-footer
0/0
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Sagohei the Three-footer
1955
Diary of the First Incredible Laughing Trip
0/0
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Diary of the First Incredible Laughing Trip
1962
Pleasant Company
0/0
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Pleasant Company
1951
The Well-known Magistrate
0/0
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The Well-known Magistrate
1958
Dai Abare Tokaido
0/0
An entertainment movie featuring familiar faces of Toyama no Kin-san, Nezumi Kozo, Yaji Kita, and others who traveled around the Tokaido. Written and...
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